


Max Mercury: Zen Master of Speed

by RoeDusk



Series: Legacy of Speed [1]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Flash Family, Gen, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-20
Updated: 2017-01-20
Packaged: 2018-09-18 17:17:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9395339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoeDusk/pseuds/RoeDusk
Summary: When Barry's powers start acting up Jay Garrick, The Flash, sends him to an old friend for help.My take on what Max Mercury would look like in Young Justice.





	1. Seeking Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had the beginning of Impulse in a collected book since I was in middle school, but wanted to read the rest of it. I had just bought the full run off ebay when Young Justice came out, and read it shortly after the second season ended. Max is one of my favorite DC characters, so I had to add him when Impulse showed up and he didn't.
> 
> I've exhumed my first attempt and cleaned it up a little. Hope you guys like it.

“I keep going through things!” Barry Allen hissed as soon as Jay Garrick let the younger man into his office and closed the door behind them.

“As in crashing, or…” Jay tried, but Allen was beginning to stress out, and the speed force was bleeding into him in his agitation.

“I just… I don’t know, speed up somehow, more than normal, even if I’m not going that fast. And I reach through things instead of touching them.” He looked terrified, “I don’t know how I’m doing it. And it doesn’t happen all the time! It just seems like it happens especially when I’m focusing on going slow.”

Jay blinked at that, trying to remember if anything like that had happened to him. Too long for the panicking Barry, it seemed.

“Jay, you have to help me! I could hurt someone… I could hurt Iris!”

“Calm down, Barry,” Jay replied, stepping forward to put both hands on the younger man’s shoulders. “You’re practically vibrating in place! Listen to me. I don’t know how to help you, ok? But I know someone who can.”

“Who?” Barry asked, the statement calming him down a bit.

“His name is Max, and he lives out in the middle of nowhere,” Jay replied with a smirk, “Bit of a hermit. But he’s one of my best friends, and, believe it or not, he taught me everything I know about the Speed Force.”

“There’s another speedster?” Barry exclaimed incredulously, but excited, “Like us?”

“Max is… He has a special connection with the Speed Force,” Jay replied with a chuckle, “But, yea. He’s a speedster like us.”

“And you’re sure he can help me,” The younger man clarified.

“Taught. Me. Everything. I. Know.” Jay repeated calmly, “He’ll set you straight. It’s almost summer, take a month or two off, and tell anyone who asks you’re visiting a cranky hermit as a favor to me.”

Barry nodded seriously, and Jay smiled.

“I’m not kidding either, Allen. Max may be an amazingly insightful person, but he likes his peace and quiet. Make sure you pack everything you’ll need, because it’s enough of a walk to the nearest town you want to make every trip worth it.”

 

* * *

 

“How long did you say you’d be gone?” Iris asked again, worrying her lip. Barry couldn’t help but feel bad about that. She’d noticed he was feeling off, but he wasn’t able to tell her anything until he actually knew what was wrong with him. He couldn’t risk her knowing about his apprenticeship to the Flash.

“Only two months, and I’ll write, if I can figure out how often letters go out.” She frowned and he sighed, risking taking her hand. “Listen, I know you’ve noticed I’m not myself lately, and Jay thinks this friend of his is just the guy to help me, I don’t know, find myself.” He smiled at her, “I’ll come back a boyfriend you can be proud of, alright?”

“You’d better, Barry Allen,” Iris teased, “Get better and come back to me.”

“Promise,” he agreed, and she surprised him with a kiss before stepping back to watch him get on the bus.

And… the bus ride was torture. The whole time Barry worried he’d break something, or go crazy from how slow they were making any progress. It was a relief when they hit the outskirts of the city, and he got off.

Ducking into a stand of trees, he shoved his clothes into the duffel bag, and speed-changed into his costume. Securing his special friction-resistant bag, he set off at a jog for Alabama.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:  
> \- Jay is the Flash right now, not Barry, so when people talk about 'The Flash' in this fic it will be Jay they mean. Barry's just helping out as his sidekick/partner since Jay took him under his wing for similar powers.  
> \- Irish and Barry have been dating for years, but they aren't married yet.


	2. Welcome to Manchester

Manchester was larger than he had expected, though still tiny compared to the twin cities. Barry took a moment to get his bearings and duck into a restroom to change, then set out at a fast walk for the address Jay had given him.

It was a long walk, and even with the danger he presented, Barry was glad when the mail truck came along and offered him a ride the rest of the way. It turned out that Max Crandall lived just close enough to town that the mail would still swing by every day, but far enough out that it was an hour walk to get there.

A middle-aged man came out at the sound of the mail, and waved after the mailman as he left. Barry waited awkwardly while the other checked what each letter was. Max looked over at him for a second, then returned to the mail.

Finally, Barry couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m Barry Alan,” he spoke up, “I’m a friend of Jay Garricks? He said you might be able to help me.” Max checked his watch, and Barry shifted awkwardly. “Sorry about showing up so suddenly.”

“Already overreacting, and you’ve only been here 10 seconds,” Max replied, looking up at the younger man, “It’s not sudden. Jay told me you’d be coming.” He gestured for the younger man to follow him and lead the way around the house.

“Did he tell you what was happening?” Barry asked nervously, “You can help me, right?”

“You didn’t tell _him_ what the problem was, so no,” Max replied briskly, pointing to one of the chairs on his back porch, “Sit. And it’s not as simple as that. Why don’t you start from the beginning, and I’ll see what I can do to help you learn to help yourself.”

Barry frowned, not sure he appreciated being talked around that way. But Max had taken the seat across from him and settled in to listen. The attentiveness calmed him somewhat, and Barry began explaining, as best he could, about the weird accidents he’d been having where he went through things rather than touching them.

Max sat calmly and listened, nodding in places, or asking questions that, somehow, reassured the younger speedster that he knew what he was doing. When Barry finished, Max nodded thoughtfully, still leaning forward, then straightened up to think.

“Well, I guess I should start off by saying you’re not dying,” the older man said after a moment, and Barry realized he’d started holding his breath. He let in a lungful of air and Max continued, “You’re also, as far as I can tell, not mutating into anything random. In fact, it’s more that you’ve gotten comfortable enough with your powers to start realizing the more complicated things they can be used for.”

“So, my powers are evolving?” Barry cut in, wide-eyed, “Can I stop them?”

“You’re not evolving,” Max sighed, “What I said was you could have done this before, if you’d been going fast enough. But you hesitated, not used to the speed. That’s why you didn’t discover it until now. And no, you can’t stop it. You have to learn how to control it.” He shrugged, “ And, I get the feeling that’s going to take us a while.”

“What exactly is happening to me?” Barry asked quietly.

“You’re vibrating,” Max replied simply, frowning at the younger man’s incredulous look, “I’m serious. You’ve finally settled into having your powers. Taken off the training wheels. Only thing is, you can’t quite remember how to slow down.”

Barry considered that as Max continued.

“It sneaks up on you,” the older man murmured, “You want to step back a moment and look around, only to realize you have to think about something you’ve done all your life. And thinking about it’s no help. You stand there, stressing about how to slow down, and, in that panic, your body keeps trying to go faster and faster. So, you vibrate, and go through things.”

“I… what?” Barry blinked.

“All that speed has to go somewhere,” The elder speedster explained, “And if you can learn to control it, you’ll be able to pass through solid objects at will. Otherwise…” he shrugged, “You might end up not being able to touch anything voluntarily again.”

Barry sucked in a breath at that, and hesitated before replying. “Is it dangerous?”

“It’s entirely possible that you could blow something up if you stop vibrating inside of it,” Max replied honestly, “Whether you would or not is dependant on how your powers respond to your mental state. But you’re too wound up right now to be having that problem.”

“But I could, right?” Barry stammered urgently, “If I was phasing through someone by accident and I stopped, I could really hurt them.”

“Which is why we will be working on this,” the older speedster replied, “On the off chance you would. But, to be honest, I’m not sure you’d be able to hurt someone with this if you tried.” He rolled his eyes at Barry’s incredulous look. “Allen, you punch villains at just under the speed of sound, and you’ve never killed anyone. You seem to bleed off most of the potential for damage back into the Speed Force whenever you attack, and you don’t even realize you’re doing it. Most likely, your innate application of Speed Force power would work the same way for the energy that would hurt someone you were vibrating through.”

“I’m not willing to take that chance,” Barry replied glumly, and Max nodded.

“That I understand. However, there’s one more thing you should know.” Barry looked up and the older man reached over to put a hand on his knee. “You can’t vibrate through another speedster. The Speed Force will interfere, and keep anyone from being hurt.”

“You mean, you’ll be fine, even if I lose control?” Barry inferred, smiling gratefully.

“Exactly,” Max replied, giving the younger man’s knee a pat before standing. “Come on. I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Manchester Alabama, setting of the Impulse comics.
> 
> And I'm writing Max sort of as an immortal who has seen and done it all? I know he isn't like that in comics, and I'm keeping the running so fast you jump forward in time issue he has. He's just lived more than one human lifetime in the spaces between jumps, and knows a lot more about the speed force than any other speedster ever has, so I think that characterization fits best.


	3. Progress

Barry beamed up at Max from the chair at the end of the phasing run they’d made. “That’s three!” The younger speedster told him breathlessly, “Three times in a row, and I didn’t fall through the chair once!”

“Good,” Max replied, smiling back, “Better than good. One last test. I want you to run the whole thing carrying the chair, then sit on it at the end.”

Barry frowned thoughtfully, but stood up to follow the directions. Racing through trees and climbing up logs only took seconds, but Max was able to follow the younger man’s progress with ease. He would admit Barry was making it easier by running casually, tho.

At the end of the run, Barry pulled to a stop and turned to sit in the chair as he put it down, only to be startled for a second when it began sinking. Grabbing the chair and standing, he put it securely on the ground before sitting again. And this time he didn’t sink.

“Um… you didn’t see that,” The younger man told Max, who chuckled.

“Even if I did, you didn’t lose control. Well done, kid.”

Barry brightened at that, looking relieved, and Max nodded to him.

“I think this calls for a celebration of some sort. You’ve been working hard for weeks, time to slow down a bit.” Barry perked up.

“You really think I’m ready to risk that?”

Max raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m surprised you haven’t noticed yet. Look around, Allen.” Barry obeyed, and was surprised to see the trees and the grass swaying in real time. If he focused he could slow it all down, and count each bee as it flew from flower to flower, but when he relaxed, it went back to normal speed.

“How…?”

“You’re learning to slow down,” Max replied, “And a good thing too, if you want to give your heart to that girl of yours. Now you can spend time together, rather than always waiting for her to catch up. Speaking of which,” The older man replied calmly, “I’ve invited her over for the weekend.”

Barry froze, suddenly gone from relaxed to panicking.

“Don’t worry, you’ve got a little under an hour before she shows up,” Max continued, smirking as the kid got up and began pacing. After a few seconds of a high speed rant, Max turned around. “You know what? Why don’t you go figure out what you’re going to wear. I’ll take the car and pick her up at the bus stop while you’re getting ready.”

“Kids,” The old man mused to himself fondly, and Barry rushed off to do just that.

 

* * *

 

“You must be Mr Crandall,” A young redhead commented, approaching Max where he was sitting on the bench.

“That’s me,” Max replied, “Which means you must be the beautiful Miss West I keep hearing about.” Iris blushed.

“Please, just Iris.”

“Max,” The older man replied, offering his hand to shake. “And don’t worry about Allen. He’d be here picking you up, but he’s too busy panicking over what to wear.”

Iris let out a snort of laughter at that, startling herself, but returned Max’s smile.

“I’ll drive back,” Max commented, leading the way back to the car, “You just ask the difficult questions you’ve been wanting to ask for a while now.”

Iris stopped short, and Max took the opportunity to open the passenger side door for her. She considered him for a moment before getting in, waiting until he was strapped in and they'd started off to ask her first question.

“I… How much do you know about Barry? He’s not exactly… like other people, and I don’t want to tell you anything he might not have wanted you to know. No offence.”

“None taken,” Max replied with a shrug. “I’ll have to admit that most of what I know about the kid I learned from living with him. I’m better acquainted with Garrick. But I’ve gone through something similar to his… condition myself, and that’s why Jay sent him to me for help.”

Iris blinked, sorting that out, then sighed in relief. “Thank god. I… When the- Jay, couldn’t help him, I was worried nobody would be able to. And he wouldn’t let me try.”

“He’s worried he’ll hurt you,” Max told her, “And, as a whole, us guys are always convinced we’re hiding our problems, or secrets, better than we actually are.”

“You think?” Iris asked with a smirk, “But I want him to tell me himself.”

“Then wait,” Max said with a smile, “And when he’s trying to explain himself in a panic, you can tell him you know. The look on his face alone will be worth it.”

“How can you be so sure?” She teased, and Max chuckled.

“Well, I only told him half an hour ago that you were coming over.”

Iris’s eyes widened at that, and she laughed.

 

* * *

 

Barry heard the car pull into the garage, and groaned, speed-switching into yet another outfit, only to realize it was the one he’d started the whole process of choosing with. But there wasn’t any time to keep going, and he hurriedly hung everything back where it had been and closed his closet. He was looking around one last time to make sure it was clean when Max’s voice echoed from downstairs.

“Allen, we’re back. You can come down already!”

Iris, she was here. And suddenly all the the worries in the world weren’t enough to keep him from racing down the stairs to see her.

“Barry!” Iris exclaimed, seeing him at the same moment he remembered to slow down, and they both bear hugged each other, laughing.

“It’s good to see you,” Barry breathed, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

“I missed you too, you big oaf,” Iris replied, grinning up at him.

“I’m going to go inside and get a cup of coffee,” Max commented mildly, “Come in when you’re done and we’ll go over the ground rules.” And with that he left them alone.

“You’re looking better,” Iris commented, cupping her boyfriend’s face for a better look, “You’re better now, right?”

“Light years better,” Barry smiled, “It turns out I was wound too tight, and I needed someone to teach me to slow down. I’m not going to suddenly blow an-- off the handle, anymore,” He covered quickly.

Iris blinked at him, frowning, then suddenly smiled. “Don’t worry, tiger, I get what you’re trying to say.”

“You do?” Barry blinked, schooling his expression carefully, “I mean, good.”

“I’m glad you’re doing better,” Iris returned, “You were worrying me there for a while. Especially when you wouldn’t tell me anything about it.”

“Iris…” Barry sighed, resting his head on her shoulder, “I just don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

“You’ll have to figure that one out on your own, then. But, if you don’t tell me things, eventually someone else will do it first, and I’ll hate that.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Barry offered weakly, pulling back to look at her, “I promise. Let’s go in?”

“Lead the way,” Iris replied, and he pulled her into the house.

 

* * *

 

“So, here’s how things are going to work,” Max began, looking at the young couple over his coffee. “I’m not your parent. I’m not going to tell you not to go at it in my house, and I’m actually fine if you do. But I made up the guestroom on the far side of the building for you to use. I don’t want to hear it, just clean up after yourselves. Got it?”

“Max~” Barry whined, his and Iris’s faces bright red. “Do you have to be so blunt about this? God.”

“Just making sure the point got across,” Max replied with a shrug, “You don’t have to use that guestroom if you don’t want to, Iris, I’ve got a few others closer to Barry’s room and mine, on this side of the house. You can put your things in one of those if you would like to, and we’ll be happy to have you close. Just if _both_ of you want to spend the night in the same room, and aren’t just planning on sleeping, use the far bedroom.”

“Dear god, Max,” Barry whispered, burying his head in his hands in mortification. “I can’t believe you’re doing this to me.”

“I picked up condoms on the last grocery run,” Max continued, “They’re in the cabinet over the toilet in the bathroom. Toothbrushes and other more immediate needs are in the cabinet over the sink. Meal times are breakfast at 8, unless we have to head into town, lunch at noon, and dinner at 6:30. If you don’t want to eat then, you can have whatever you cook for yourself, otherwise we can take turns, though I’m willing to do all the cooking this weekend if it keeps me from Allen’s attempts at chilli.”

“Hey! I got that recipe from a friend, it’s not my fault!”

“Understood,” Iris nodded, still blushing, but not showing her discomfort any more than that.

“I’ve also put aside an allowance for the two of you to go into town tomorrow night. should be enough for dinner and a movie or show.” The older speedster offered in a kinder tone. Barry perked up at that.

“You didn’t have to do that, Max.”

“Nonsense, I can afford it, let me give you both a night out. You certainly don’t need me to chaperone. Though… I would prefer Iris drive.”

Barry sighed dramatically and Iris looked confused, but agreed.

After lunch, Barry lead Iris down the hall to his and Max’s rooms, and she agreed it would make more sense to stay in the room adjacent to his. After trying to help her unpack and being ordered to back off, he settled for watching her work.

“Why does Max call you Iris?” He asked after a moment.

“It’s my name…?” She returned, frowning at him. “Same reason you do.”

“I mean, he calls me ‘Allen’.”

“Oh,” She shrugged, “Because I asked him to?”

“Huh,” Barry replied, “I think I’ll try that, then.”

“You do that, tiger,” Iris agreed mildly, returning to her unpacking as Barry hurried off.

 

“Max?”

“Yes?” The older speedster replied, not looking up from his newspaper.

“You call Iris ‘Iris’ and not me. Why?”

“Why would I call you Iris?” Max sighed, turning the page and ignoring Barry’s frown.

“You know that’s not what I meant. Why don’t you call me ‘Barry’?”

“Would you like me to?”

“Yes.”

“Alright,” Max agreed meeting Barry’s gaze over the newspaper for a second before turning back.

“Just like that?”

“Yes, _Barry_ , just like that. Do you need something else?”

The younger speedster beamed at him, “No. Thanks Max.” And he rushed off to check on Iris again.

Max shook his head, wondering if all speedsters were doomed to mood swings. He certainly hoped not.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always sort of wondered how you could miss someone having superpowers in DC. There's always little cues the writers or illustrators give the audience, like ducking out of the way too fast to get hit then sitting back like nothing happened. The plate would look like it just went through you, that's not stealthy Barry...
> 
> And that's Oliver's chili recipe, extra spicy. Max is not a fan.


	4. Sunday

“Alright, you two, settle down,” Max chuckled as Barry and Iris mock glared at each other over the table and stole each other’s food, Barry protesting the loudest. The couple turned to him in question and he shrugged. “As it’s Iris’s last day, I decided we should do something special. Get changed into work clothes and meet me in the backyard.”

Iris raised an eyebrow at Barry, who shrugged.

“No idea.”

So, they headed back to their rooms to change, and Max set about moving his boxes outside. Iris and Barry found him in the backyard, positioning three good sized boxes in a still grassy section of the yard.

“No peeking,” Max chastised as they headed for the nearest one, and his two younger houseguests obediently turned away to come over to him.

“Now,” the elder speedster began, “I figured it’s a hot day, but a memorable one. So, everyone pick a box, hang onto the cover, and we’ll start on the count of three. Ready?”

Barry took the box on the right, while Iris took the one Max hadn’t been standing beside.

“One… Two… Three!” Max counted, and they all ripped off the covers. Both Barry and Iris blinked in surprise, taking a moment to realize the boxes were full of water balloons! Max took the opportunity to get them both with one of his before they could recover. And then it was on!

Barry managed not to cheat, too much, and only dodged half the balloons with his superspeed. Max was dodging nearly all the ones the younger speedster tried to throw at superspeed, or laughing when the extra speed caused them to break on himself rather than his target. As for Iris, she was doing pretty well for facing down two secret speedsters, though the fact that both of them were either distracted or letting her hit them most of the time may have had something to do with it.

10 minutes later and all the balloons were gone. Barry and Iris were trying to find all the rubber bits on the lawn while running away from Max, who was coming after them with the garden hose (theoretically to finish watering the lawn).

Finally, Iris gave Barry a knowing look, and they both charged Max to wrap the drier man in a double bearhug in revenge.

“Go on, you two,” Max laughed, “Get dried, cleaned up, and changed. I’ll finish up out here and come in to see you off.” The couple hurried inside to do just that, and Max waited until he could hear the shower going to clean the rest of the yard as superspeed.

He was putting the hose away when Iris came out, hair in a towel, but otherwise finished getting ready for the bus ride back. Max nodded to her and she smiled.

“Barry’s taking his turn in the shower now, so I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you. I had a lot of fun.”

“No problem,” Max shrugged, “Balloons are cheap, and the lawn needed watering anyway.”

“Not just for that, for the whole weekend, and taking care of Barry. I don’t know what we would have done without you.”

Max turned to her, “The Speed Force isn’t just some spectral battery, Iris, it makes us family, no matter how much time or distance may have us separated by blood. Took me a long time to realize that. Even if you don’t think of yourself as one of us, you always will be.” He nodded to himself, “You know what? Grab the notepad from next to the phone in the kitchen, and I’ll give you some contact information, incase anything goes wrong.”

“Thank you, Max,” Iris beamed, leaning forward to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before heading back inside.

Max chuckled, “You’d better make a move soon, Barry, or she’ll be the one asking you to the altar.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As long as everyone's ok with it you're never too old to throw water balloons at people.


	5. Secrets and Legacy

“So, how’d it go?” Max asked once Barry had parked the car and come into the living room.

“I don’t know, Max,” the younger speedster sighed, flopping into an armchair, “The weekend was amazing, and suddenly I don’t know what to say when she’s leaving.”

“What happened to ‘I’ll miss you’ or ‘I’ll be home soon’?” Max cocked his head, “And, for the record, I actually was asking about the car, that works too though.”

“Driving was fine,” Barry replied, “I was able to keep focused, and didn’t hit anything. But those are such generic things to say! I wanted to tell her I could be there for her in minutes if she really needed me. But how would I explain that if I said it?”

“You could try the truth?” Max shrugged, “Now, don’t give me that look, Barry. Do you love her?”

Barry nodded.

“And you want to spend the rest of your life with her?”

“Of course! You know how I feel about her! We’ve been dating for 3 years, Max, she’s the _one_.”

“So, you’re not worried she’s secretly one of your supervillains, or going to betray your secret to the world?”

“What? No! Iris would never do that!”

“Then what are you waiting for?”

Barry blinked at him, before turning away, “It’s not that simple.”

Max raised an eyebrow then sighed, checking his watch. “This isn’t something I can fix in 9 hours, but listen. She isn’t going to think any differently if you tell her. And she’s still in danger if she doesn’t know.”

“I know that!” Barry growled, standing suddenly to glare at the older man. “You think I don’t worry, don’t beat myself up over what might happen if I’m found out, and the crazies I deal with every day go after her?” He turned away, “But I’m not the Flash, I’m Barry Allen, and I love her. If she’s willing to take that risk with me, I want to spend the rest of my life with her. But what if the worst does happen, and I’m not fast enough. I can run at super speed, but I can’t be everywhere at once.”

“And what if something happens, one of those villains you’re always fighting gets lucky, and she has to find out once you’re dead?” Max asked quietly, “What if you never work up the nerve to tell her, and you refuse to ask her to marry you without knowing all the risks. What if she gets tired of waiting, and walks away? What then?”

Barry was staring at him, wide eyed, and Max sighed again.

“Listen, don’t take my word on this. I’m a bitter old man, and I know it. But, you have 9 hours before her bus gets back to Central. I’m giving you an assignment, just as important as the ones we were doing with vibration. Go back to Keystone, and talk to Jay, talk to Joan. They’ll tell you the risk is worth it.” The older speedster smiled, “It’s no different than if you were a cop, with a history of working with those same costumed criminals. Only, you have the fastest family alive, and we’ll protect her to the best of _our_ ability as well.”

Barry blinked again, then was gone, the door slamming after him as he sped away. Max listened to the echo ring through his now empty house, and frowned.

Then he went back to his newspaper.

 

* * *

 

A knock at the door startled Jay and Joan out of their conversation, and the speedster got up to answer it. A distraught Barry Allen looked up as the door opened.

“I don’t know what to do, Jay! He says I have to tell her but I can’t!”

The older speedster blinked before ushering the younger man inside. Joan took one look at Barry and set about making a third plate for lunch.

“Woah there junior,” Jay soothed as best he could, pulling Barry over to a seat at the table. “Start from the beginning, calmly, and try again. Who says you have to do what?”

“Max,” Barry muttered, eyes fixed on his hands, “He told me I need to tell Iris about my speed. About working with you, Jay! But I don’t think I can.” He buried his face in his hands, “But I don’t want to lose her. I love her, Jay.”

“There’s no doubt you do,” Jay replied softly, “I know that, she knows that. There’s no rush yet. You don’t _have_ to listen to what Max said.”

“I know,” Barry sighed, “But he makes sense, and all my arguments sound stupid when he’s debating them.” The younger speedster shook his head, “How’d you do it, Jay? When you told Joan about your speed.”

The couple looked at each other, Jay sheepish, and Joan with a laugh.

“Oh, now you have to tell the story,” Joan chuckled, putting a plate full of food in front of each man. “See, he didn’t exactly tell me he was a speedster.”

“There was an accident, back during my time with the JSA,” Jay admitted, “I thought my powers were gone forever. Joan was suddenly seeing more of me than she had in months, and demanded to know why.”

“So, he sat me down, and told me everything,” Joan cut in with a smile, “I didn’t believe him, of course, and he couldn’t do anything to prove it. But the Flash was missing, and he told me that as long as he was, I’d have him all to myself. So we agreed to wait and see.”

“I didn’t think my powers would come rushing back all at once,” Jay offered apologetically, “The villain we thought we’d sacrificed our powers to contain came back, and we fought him again. I woke up after the battle halfway around the world, and an hour late to meet with Joan.”

“I was furious Jay had gone back to his old ways,” Joan nodded, smiling fondly, “And left the restaurant in a huff. Halfway home he appeared to me out of thin air, still in costume, to apologize.”

“She believed me then, but it took a while for her to get over being mad at me for standing her up all the time,” Jay finished.

“It got better once I realized he could drop by to check on me in any free moment, now that I already knew who he was,” Joan laughed. She reached over to pat Barry on the arm, “Don’t take our past as a guide, hon. Iris is a whole different lady than I am, and she’s known you since before your accident. I met Jay after he was the Flash, and it took him forever to convince me he wasn’t just playing with me. Iris would never assume that about you.”

“But she deserves to know why I keep running out on her, when I never needed to before. I just… I don’t want to force her to keep my secret for me. But I don’t want to keep lying to her either. Max told me I was being silly, waiting like this, but I don’t think I’m ready to try and tell her. There are too many things that could go wrong.”

“Then wait,” Jay said with a shrug.

“But…!” Barry tried to explain, only to stop when Joan reached over to cover his hand with hers.

“Max can say what he likes,” she told the young speedster, “and it’s possible he’s right when he says you could tell her now, but every relationship is different. Because every person is different. Now, Jay and I had a rocky start, and we could give you advice based on that, but you’re not Jay. If you don’t feel like it’s the right time, then don’t worry about it.” She smiled, “All Jay and I want you to remember, and Max too I’ll bet, is that you can’t let fear stop you from telling her, when the right time comes along.”

“I know,” Barry replied softly, and Joan smiled at him.

“Then don’t worry about it anymore. You and Iris are still going strong, and you’ve gotten training to help with the worries you had. It may not be the right time, but you’ve made great strides in getting to that point. It’ll come when you’re ready.”

Barry took a deep breath and let it out before smiling at her, “Thank you.”

“No worries, dear,” Joan replied, patting his hand gently as she sat back.

Jay cleared his throat. “Now, this may not be the best time, so to speak, but there was something I wanted to talk to you about once you got back from Max’s.”

“Something _we_ wanted to talk to you about,” Joan corrected her husband, “But it’s alright if you’d rather wait until the month’s end, like we originally thought.”

“I’m fine,” Barry said quickly, “What is it?”

The couple shared a look and Jay spoke up again.

“It’s been over 50 years, now, since my old team disbanded, and… since Kent retired, I’m the second to last active member of the team.” He met Barry’s gaze firmly, “What I’m saying is, I’ve been looking to retire for some time, but could never relax enough to stay home, knowing there was no one out there to take my place.”

“What we wanted to ask is, would you take up the mantle of the Flash,” Joan murmured.

“I’ll still be on reserve if you need anything, for at least a few years,” Jay continued quickly, “But… I’m old, Barry. Older than I look. And I want the chance to grow old with my beautiful wife. Not spend my waning years chasing down the next generation of villains.”

Barry stared at him, “You mean, you want me to be your successor? Me?”

“I couldn’t ask for better,” Jay nodded, “Just, think about it?”

“You’re sure you want me?” Barry asked in shock, “I mean, there’s so much I don’t know, Jay, what if I mess up, and the badguy gets away?”

The older speedster laughed, “You think I don’t have that happen to me? Even now? No, you’re better at this than I was a your age, I have no doubts you’ll do just as well, if not better, than I can. And, if you need me, I’ll still be here. You just have to ask, and I’ll tell you anything I can think of. All the tricks of the trade.” Jay smiled, “You’ve certainly earned it.”

“Then yes,” Barry said nervously, “If you’re sure, of course I’d do it. You have no idea what this means to me, Jay. Thank you, for everything.”

“No,” Jay replied, his eyes sparkling, “Thank you, Barry, for believing in an old coot like me.”

“You’re not that old…” Barry protested at the same moment Joan playfully slapped her husband.

“And what are you implying about me, old-timer?”

 

* * *

 

Calmer now, Barry bid goodnight to Jay and Joan, and headed back to Manchester. It was just after sunset when he arrived, and the fact that the porch light was on calmed him somewhat.

“Max?” he called quietly, opening the front door.

“Welcome back,” the older man greeted, looking up from the kitchen table, “You have a good run?”

“Yea,” Barry offered awkwardly, “Jay and Joan helped me think things through, and I still think I’m going to wait, at least a little bit longer.”

“Mhmm,” Max acknowledged, and the inflection was somehow positive, letting Barry relax.

“I just don’t want to rush into the conversation without thinking. Seems like it might do more harm than good, at least for me.”

Max sighed and looked up, “I didn’t mean it to come across like I was trying to force you into anything. I just… don’t want you to waste your chances, and end up looking back on your life wondering what happened.”

“I know,” Barry agreed with a smile, “And I’m going to make sure that doesn’t happen.” He hesitated then, considering what he wanted to say next.

“There was something else Jay wanted to talk to me about.”

“Oh?” Max returned, putting the paper down to listen.

“Yea. He wants me to become the Flash, full time. Take over for him, not just help out as his apprentice in speed.”

“Hmm,” the elder speedster considered, “I think you’d be good at it.”

“You do?” Barry stammered, “Really?”

“Do I often say things I don’t mean?” Max asked, eyebrow raised, “Either way, I mean it this time. You’re faster than Jay, than me, and you care, more than I ever did, for what happens to people.”

Barry frowned at that, and opened his mouth to argue, but Max cut him off.

“Look at me, Barry, how many disasters do you know happened in my lifetime? And, at how many of those did Jay see me?”

“But you did help,” Barry argued, “When things were at their worst, you went to find him, and brought him back.”

“I already knew him then,” Max replied softly, “And I went because it was Jay, not because the world was at stake. Listen,” he continued at Barry’s stricken look, “The world is full of disasters, and I stopped caring decades ago. I help the people I care about, and leave the rest of the world to its own devices. But this isn’t about me. It’s about you. You _care_ , Barry. And that’s what makes you a hero.”

“You’re a hero too, Max,” Barry replied, shaking his head, “You just don’t know it then.” At the older man’s snort, he changed the subject, “But, you have no objections? Really?”

“I think you’re ready,” Max agreed, “Just remember how to slow down every once in a while, or you’ll lose your connection to those you’re protecting. And, Barry? Don’t let her go. If you really love her, never let her go.”

“I won’t,” Barry promised, smiling, “We back to training tomorrow?”

“Nah,” Max replied, picking his paper back up, “We’re mostly done. Take the day off. Now, hit the showers, then we can both have something for dinner.”

“Will do,” Barry laughed, turning down the hall towards the bathroom. “Why do you have such a big house when it’s just you?” He teased before disappearing out of sight.

Max looked after him for a long moment, listening as the silence was broken by the shower starting up.

“Because I never planned to live in it alone,” he muttered before going back to his paper.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's no such thing as keeping someone safe by not telling them you're a superhero. The only way not telling someone something will keep them safe is if possessing that information is something people would kill them to keep quiet. 
> 
> But there's no right answer to who you should trust, or when. Or even how to share that you're a costume. 
> 
> Also, lonely Max is lonely. 
> 
> And that's the end of the first part. There's a large timeskip before the next part so I'll probably make it a stand alone fic. Thanks for reading.


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